Undead Rising

Lead-Up

Many years ago, the nation of Cappodocia (located in what is now Coventry) allowed undead & the living to dwell together. That nation was decimated by a massive combined army from surrounding nations.

Back when they were up near the Line, the party heard that archaeologists had just unearthed the remains of a large Cappodocian city in the Coventry district of Eridu (which you now know is overseen by High Lady Shadowmantle.

About a month ago, the party stumbled upon a buried household of Cappodocians who were waking up, and discovered documents listing how much of their nation had gone dormant underground to awaken later.

Jak’s god, Agni, has given him specific information about an undead uprising that will come from 3 points: Umbria, Coventry, and the area around Thay. Agni has instructed Jak to burn all of the undead.

The recent summoning of Bane to the prime material plane, and the subsequent entrance of the hand of a primordial, may have weakened the Primal Ban set forth at the end of the Dawn War, which may be allowing certain divine or primordial powers to exert more influence on the world.

Most of Coventry’s military is currently on duty at The Line, and it will take at least a month (under best conditions) to get any of them back to Coventry.

The Night of the Dead

The undead rose up before any votes could happen. At the same time, the minotaurs stole Malfeather’s Mythal, which caused him to enact a blood magic curse, effectively turning much of Coventry into an angry extension of the Feywild, making all fey creatures attack any intruders (though the definition of “intruders” was never clarified).

Help (?)

I’ve eliminated all the voting options, since more than 2/3 of the Council is either dead or not in the nation anymore. Still, some of your actions related to these options produced results.

Raven Queen’s Forces. Akara is the field commander of the remaining RQ Avengers on the East Coast of the continent. A list of those resources can be found here.

Dambrath/Church of Pelor: You have some allies back in Dambrath (remember that super-militant fire genasi?), and an already burgeoning mini church of the Sun in Coventry. Sun folks don’t like the undead, so maybe they could help.UPDATE: Word was sent to Dambrath for help, but no reply has been heard so far.

Arkhosian Help?: Nikolai could ask the ghost angel of Bahamut to summon a bunch of dragonborn to come help, though there’s no indication about how soon that might come.UPDATE: Nikolai asked the ghost dragon for help, and now Detham’s Legion is on their way to help.

Ionian Help?: You do have ties to both General Featherin and King Imperius. Ionians have never shied away from a fight, even when it wasn’t theirs to immediately fight.UPDATE: Nikolai sent word to Ionia, and General Featherin responded that he’s on his way with a force of volunteers to help (King Imperius is still waded down in politics regarding whether or not to devote an official Ionian force, given what happened the last time an Ionian army went up against a large undead force).

Politics – High Lords

A lot has happened, and many of the High Lords are no longer in positions of power. Here’s what the party knows about the high lords right now.

Dead These High Lords have fallen.Paulo Maximo: human high lord of Northern Delta “Walt Disney”
– killed & replaced by a minotaur wizard, a Yikaria, whom the party later killedDarius Malfeather: eladrin Most High Lord of Coventry, High Lord of Malfeather, Duke of the Feywild
– died enacting a Blood Magic curse that empowered the Fey energy of Coventry to “Destroy the intruders”Father Onyx Moradinson: dwarven high lord of Sonlinnor Heights
– died of an undead poison during the attack on the Gortonsalt estate

Unknown These High Lords are unaccounted for currently.Kane Dixon: human(?) high lord of Dixon Plains
– last seen (by Blackhand) fighting off a mummy attack with his RQ Avenger bodyguard, Noir.Elrond Dunwall: Elf high lord of Dunwall forests
– master bowman, dislikes poachersCormerant Shadowleaf: Eladrin high lord of Elkridge Island
– conspiracy theorist and revolutionaryJonas Jax: human high lord of Jax Protectorate, ex-military
– left the dinner party with his wife when he learned of the death of his son. Neither has been seen since, though his RQ Avenger bodyguard, Drucilla, still lives, so maybe he (and his wife) are still okay.Ultra Thaumat: human archmage & high lord of Majerian
– last seen at Malfeather’s party. His RQ Avenger bodyguard is dead.Fingleworth Occident: gnome high lord of Occidental Edgelant
– his RQ Avenger bodyguard, the revolutionary Kelsier, is alive, so maybe he is too.

Other Important People

Valindra Shadowmantle: female human lich of Thay
– Has an airship, known to be interested in undead armies, her airship was seen over the capital, sucking in souls of the dead.UPDATE: Valindra was defeated at the hands of the party, who took her airship as a prize. Her soul returned to her phylactery (where ever that is), so she’ll likely be back at some point to exact revenge. But at least she’s out of the immediate picture right now.

Misters Krup & Vandamaar: minotaur mercenaries
- interested in taking actions to further the goals of their soon-to-be-manifest minotaur nation, New Krynn, the population of which is currently in some hell dimension.UPDATE: Krup & Vandamaar stole Malfeather’s Mythal, so they now effectively have a Stargate that can send their demonic minotaur army anywhere.

Kalarel Rakshasa of indeterminate loyalties
– despite being everything that Akara hates, Kalarel has already paid for both the services of the young thief guild “The Roof Runners” and the consulting services of the assassin Artemis Entreri to aide the party. Whether he wants anything in return for this is unknown.UPDATE: Kalarel is now the sole trained pilot of the airship (having killed all the Thayan pilots), so he’s sort of claimed it as his own, rechristening it “The Fallen Angel”. So far he’s been kind enough to let the party stay on-board, but issues regarding fueling the ship may arise soon.

Artemis Entreri Half-elf assassin & gambler
– probably doesn’t care about politics, but is more interested in whatever will make him the most money.UPDATE: Kalarel has recently paid the “consulting fee” to get Artemis to offer his advice to the party in an advisory capacity. UPDATE: Artemis was last seen at the Malfeather estate, where he disappeared in the shadows during the party’s fight with the minotaurs.